The Judge
by Piertotum Locomoter
Summary: "Look, I don't know who you are, but the way you judge people is a bit biased." "At least I'm not a Death Eater," she spat venomously.
1. All's fair in love and war

**Hello! To everyone who have read this before: I've just combined the first 2 chapters and corrected some mistakes. You don't _have _to read this. To newcomers : Also hello! I hope you like this!**

**And now, I present Chapter 1 of The Judge.**

* * *

Hermione Granger was already having a bad day. All the paperwork and obliviation of muggles could take a toll on any person, but not Hermione.

Today_ had_ to an exception.

"Ms Granger, you have an appointment with the Minister in 10 minutes," her secretary Linda informed her.

She cried out in frustration. How could she forget? She normally had everything written down in her calendar.

"Bad day?" Linda sympathised.

"Oh, you have no idea. Isaac Shacklebolt is going to kill me. I don't even have my calendar with me today!"

Linda looked a tad bit surprised. Hermione _never _forgot her calendar. She was the most studious and unforgetting person you could ever meet. Something else had to be up.

The truth was that grief was slowly starting to kick in. She'd fought it off for several months, but grief has a way to sneak in and entwine itself with life, regardless of how hard you tried to fight it, it fought harder until you get engulfed. When the War ended, many people realised that the world wasn't black and white, there were hidden grey areas too. Unfortunately, in Hermione's eyes, it could never be grey. You either chose to be good or bad, regardless of your background.

"You have 6 minutes left, Ms Granger."

Oh. Right. The Minister.

"I better hurry. See you soon, Linda."

When Hermione eventually arrived, she was hit by the most revolting flash of colour she had ever seen. A horrible shade of pasty purple, with brown, bright orange, and green _triangles_ adorning the trousers, complete with the most hideous tie-dyed tie she'd ever seen. Was that supposed to be called a _suit_?! It was hard to imagine he was Kingsley's older brother.

To be honest, it matched his office. Er, let's just say he was the type of person who Hermione imagined to have an army of Kneazles in a rickety old apartment with barely any room for himself.

"Good evening Hermione."

"Er...Good evening, Minister."

"I'm sure you're wondering why you're here?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, we've got a very peculiar situation down at Wizengamot quarters...if you could still call it that. The War was ruthless. Ruthless," he said, shaking his head.

Even a blind man could see his dramatics.

"Anyway, I hoped you'd know what was happening. It's mayhem down there. No one knows what's happening. I trust you'll give him a fair trial?"

Him.

"Of course, sir. Should I go down there now?"

"Yes."

Hermione took that as an invitation to leave. She rose up from her chair and departed.

As the big spruce door opened for her, she saw a silhouette of a man tied in a chair, unconscious. It was...

* * *

His head was pounding, and he was pretty sure he had a cracked rib, but he couldn't focus on anything. He could hear a woman's shrieks and multiple voices buzzing around. Darkness engulfed him once more, his consciousness slipping away.

"Rennervate."

Draco Malfoy's eyes slowly fluttered open. His head was still pounding, and things were still fuzzy, but he saw a cold-eyed witch glaring at him.

"Why would you give _him _a trial? His family is nothing but a bunch of Death Eaters! I cannot_ believe_-" a high-pitched voice was screaming in his ear.

"Ms Granger! Didn't you just say three weeks ago that everyone deserves a second chance? Didn't you ensure that by coming down here once a week, to make sure everything was alright? Yet you won't let him-or _us-_for that matter, explain."

Hermione looked furious.

"He's lost his memory," a mousy haired witch said quietly.

"DOES THAT CHANGE ANYTHING HE'S DONE IN THE PAST? DOES IT CHANGE THAT HE WAS A DEATH EATER? NO!"

"Ms Granger, stop shouting! Of _course, _it doesn't change what he was. But let's give him a fair trial, shall we?"

This was when Draco felt brave enough to speak. "Trial?"

"Yes. We'll just ask you some simple questions."

"No Veritaserum?" Hermione hissed.

"Why would you give me Veritaserum?"

"Shut up and drink this." The mean brunette snarled.

"Why?"

Someone pinched him, he couldn't tell who, and when he gave an exclamation of pain, he felt a liquid go down his throat.

"There," someone said. "Now, do you know why you're here?"

"No." the word was drawn out, slowly, as if he was unsure.

"Do you have a wand on you?" against his will, he nodded.

_The number one rule, never give your wand out, Stupid._

"_Accio_ wand!" this time, the mean brunette approached him, quiet and deadly.

"Give the wand here, Ms Granger."

"Why shouldn't I snap it in two here, on the spot?"

"No!" Draco loved his wand. It was the only thing that was rightfully his. He distinctly remembered all the times his father would take it from him, and whip him with a leather belt. He could also remember his mother kissing him on the cheek, but nothing more.

Hermione sneered.

"Ms Granger! This is your final warning! If this is how you'll behave, then I will personally ensure that you make it out of those doors and never come back!" Madam Wood exclaimed.

A look of fear crossed her eyes. Wood smiled, satisfied.

"Now, do you remember anything in the past...six months?"

"Pieces...I remember a red-haired man dying...people getting crucioed..._me _getting crucioed..." he gasped out. His head was pounding even harder now. Nobody took notice.

"Do you know who Voldemort is?"

"The Dark Wizard?"

"I bet he does. A leopard never changes its spots."

"Ms Granger!"

The man in questioning was deeply irritated. Who was this and why was she so set on hating him? "Look, I don't know what I did wrong, but the way you judge people is extremely biased."

"You're plain evil," she hissed.

"What is evil? I don't think we agree on the definition just yet."

"_Evil_ is when you kill your Headmaster! _Evil_ is when you blindly follow You-Know-Who! _Evil_ is when you're asked to stay, you get up, and leave everything behind, every memory you had together, and throw all of that _away_!"

Everyone was speechless. What she had just said had no relation to what was being discussed at the moment.

" _Ms_ Granger, we must ask you to leave. You are disrupting our questioning! This has nothing to do with the man in question," Madam Waters glared. She always disliked Granger. Too uptight, too much of a work-a-holic. "This is a wound that runs much deeper, and we'd like you to leave. Since the Minister would like you in on this, I can't tell you to leave entirely, but I can politely ask you to wait outside. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. Wait outside, please."

"Fine!" gritting her teeth, she stomped across the room where the Doors opened for her.

* * *

"Would you like a crumpet, Ms Granger?"

"No, thank you."

"Tea?"

She hesitated. Hermione hated tea, but she didn't want to appear rude. "Yes, please."

Madam Waters poured her a cup of tea.

"So, I've decided since you're here whether I like it or not, we'd need you to get along with Mr Malfoy. That is the main priority at the moment."

"Excuse me Madam Waters, but why can I not leave this case entirely?"

She removed her spectacles, sighing. Hermione noticed that she was pinching the bridge of her nose, too. "Because the Minister is- well, you can say that he can be a very stubborn man sometimes. You could plainly see that she would have liked to use a few more colourful words to describe the Minister.

"Of course, for the time being, Draco is going to be living at your house-"

Hermione choked on her tea.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

** I'm back! I would love it if someone could beta this story or ask someone who does. I don't mean randomly asking people, I mean if someone has beta-ed for you before, please ask them if they'll beta for me. Thank you!**

**Reviews help me update faster and they bring a smile to my face! I'd love it if you could review!**


	2. Slytherin Ties

**-drumroll-**

**I present to you, Chapter 2 of The Judge! **

* * *

Draco Lucius Malfoy was bored.

He had no recollection of what had happened the past year.

And he was hungry.

Of course, when you combine these three things, you get a very irritable Draco.

So there was only one thing left to do.

Draco cleared his throat. All the hustle around him stopped, everyone's eyes on him.

Okay, maybe this wasn't the _best _idea...

"When can I go?"

Again, people started speaking over him, arguing.

Draco sighed. _'Not anytime soon, I suppose.'_

* * *

"Y-yo-you cannot do this, Madam Waters! First of all, I would never want that _ferret _in my house, and this isn't even legal! See, here, Department of Law Enforcement, rule 487, 'a person cannot impose another character in someone else's house without the consent of the owner', see, Madam Waters, I-"

"Oh, you foolish girl, stop your unnecessary ranting and listen to me," Madam Waters snapped irritably. God, working with this girl was such a pain! "Department of Law Enforcement, Rule 2038, 'a person cannot get drunk in a muggle bar'. These aren't _rules_, they're common courtesy. Maybe I did get carried away...living in a house with Mr Malfoy would probably result in his death..."

"Thank you, Madam Waters!" Hermione earnestly said. "I shall remember thi-"

"I haven't finished," Hermione blushed, feeling smaller than ever. "But you two will be working together. _You_, Ms Granger, will have to help Mr Malfoy regain his memory. You like puzzles, don't you? Don't people call you the Smartest Witch of her Age? Or was it 'our Age'? I can't remember. It's time to show that you truly are the smartest! Now let's call it a day. I have to see where Mr Malfoy will be sleeping. You can go home, Ms Granger. Excuse me." with that, she got up and left her office.

After she apparated home, Hermione made herself a huge cup of hot chocolate. Hermione lived in a little apartment near a muggle town. She'd meet many other witches and wizards on her daily strolls but forget about them as soon as they forgot about her.

Realization hit Hermione like a thousand bricks. She was to be working with Draco I'm-just-a-snobby-Death-Eater Malfoy! She wanted to throw something. Instead, she went to her room, hot chocolate forgotten.

Hermione's room didn't look like a typical Gryffindor's. Birch bed, panelled walls, light grey curtains, it looked like a room out of a resort. Of course, her being Hermione Granger, she had to have at least 300 books in her room. Books adorned each shelf, bedsides, her dresser, and desk.

Ah, her little table! A bright, vibrant red typewriter proudly sat upon her desk, with paper strewn around everywhere. Even though she wouldn't admit it to anyone, including herself, Hermione hated working at the Ministry. At 9'O clock sharp, she would sit down and write her heart out. Heaven knows when she would stop! Sometimes she would just sleep at her desk, her light snoring filling the air. No one knew about her hobby, not even Harry or Ron. It wasn't that she was embarrassed, no! She just liked keeping it to herself. It was her little bubble of peace, whenever she would sit down there. You could call it selfish, you could call it privacy. But Hermione didn't care what anyone called it. When she sat there, everything just felt _right_.

When she got up, Hermione saw a flash of green. She felt a pang of sadness, walking towards it.

It was a Slytherin tie.

* * *

_"Come _on_ Harry, Ron's waiting for us at the Great Hall!" Hermione cried, tugging on Harry's robe. Harry laughed. He loved Hermione like a little sister, and sometimes she acted just like that. "I'm coming Hermione, just a minu-"_

_Suddenly, they heard footsteps. Draco Malfoy, all alone, none of his cronies to be seen._

_"What's up, Malfoy?" Harry taunted. "No Crabbe and Goyle? Don't you feel a little vulnerable, witho_

_ut the help of those two idiots?"_

_"Potter," he acknowledged. Harry took a step back, slightly surprised. "You're right, they are idiots." He nodded his head at him, his eyes lingering on Hermione a little longer than they both would've liked. Hermione couldn't tear her eyes away from him._

_"Come on Harry, it's time to go," she said slowly, still not taking her eyes off Draco._

_"Right," he said. "Let's go."_

_"What took you two so long?" Ron grinned, stuffing his mouth with some chicken._

_"Ew, Ronald, why do you always have to eat like tha-"_

_"We ran into the ferret, of course," he glared._

_"He any worse?"_

_"He was _civil_, so in a way, yes."_

_Ron and Harry continued talking about the Slytherin while Hermione ate. Something wasn't right..._

_"Let's go, you two! It's time for Herbology!"_

_As they made their way to the greenhouses, Hermione made to put her book in her satchel. When she opened it, she found a green and silver tie._

_She looked around for any sign of that ferret, but didn't see him that day._

* * *

She was stone cold.

She made her way to the Wizengamot, the Doors opening for her. Madam Waters and Malfoy were having a very deep conversation by the looks of it.

Hermione cleared her throat. Both of them looked up.

"Ah, Hermione!" The use of her first name wasn't lost upon her. "Right, you two better get started then. I'll be in Wathersel's office if you need me.

_"Granger. You better get started. Don't kill him, and don't call me."_

She went out of the room, Doors closing

* * *

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